Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA)

Founding and History

In 2009, a consortium of nine labor groups representing food workers allied to form the Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) in order to offset what they perceived as the corporate consolidation of the food industry. ¹ Founding members of the Alliance included Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, a left-wing “workers center” that advocates for union-aligned labor regulations in the restaurant industry; el Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas, a migrant farmworkers association; and the International Labor Rights Forum, a labor advocacy organization. ¹

Activities and Activism

FWCA calls for the introduction of socialist and other left-of-center equity principles into America’s food-production system. Instead of private ownership, FWCA desires the food industry to be “democratically controlled by the communities it impacts and driven by the workers that create the food.” ¹ The organization calls for “alternatives to capitalism including supporting the growth of worker-owned cooperatives.” ²

To accomplish this, FWCA demands “less private ownership” achieved by a solidarity movement led more by “women, people of color, immigrants, and other frontline workers.” ¹ FWCA also includes in its guiding principles support for open borders and antagonism to patriarchy and transphobia. Additionally, FWCA believes that the current food system is “exploitative” because it is “rooted in systems of white supremacy, a history of slavery, and colonization.” ²

FWCA works to build up a workers’ movement through various programs, including labor organizing, coalition building among other labor and food service organizations, policy advocacy, and more. ³

Members

FWCA partners with other left-wing associations throughout the country, especially labor unions and socialist groups. The Alliance claims to have 34 member organizations representing over 375,000 food workers in both Canada and the United States. ¹

Members of FWCA include Teamsters Local 63 from Los Angeles; Trabajadores Unidos Por La Justicia; Street Vendors Association of Chicago; Allianza Agricola; Venceremos; Federation du Commerce; Burgerville Workers Union; Justicia for Migrant Workers; Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union; Workers’ Center of Central New York; Familias Unidas por la Justicia; Laundry Workers Center United; Warehouse Workers for Justice; Pioneer Valley Workers Center; Worker Justice Center of New York; Warehouse Worker Resource Center; UFCW Local 770 in Southern California; Unite Here; Teamsters Joint Council 7 in Northern California and Nevada; the Street Vendor Project; Rural Community Worker Alliance; Rural and Migrant Ministry; Restaurant Opportunities Centers United; United for Respect; Mississippi Worker’s Center for Human Rights; Migrant Justice; International Labor Rights Forum – Global Labor Justice; Farmworker Association of Florida; Fair World Project; Comté de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas; Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center; Community to Community Development; California Institute for Rural Studies; and Brandworkers International. ⁴

Grantmaking

In 2021, FWCA donated $70,000 to the Movement Strategy Center, a left-wing nonprofit providing support and funding to many groups that identify as socialist. ⁵ In 2020, FWCA likewise donated $40,500 to Movement Strategy Center as well as $13,150 each to the following left-of-center labor organizations: Warehouse Workers for Justice, Street Vendor Association of America, and Industrial Workers of the World. ⁶

Leadership

FWCA is managed by a board of directors composed of individuals from various member organizations who serve for two-year terms. ⁷ As of 2023, the chair of the board was Sophie Miyoshi, the lead organizer of ROC United. ⁸